Talia Carner

Author, Speaker, Activist

“Curious and courageous” is how novelist Talia Carner describes herself. She has spent the past two decades writing about difficult issues, from infanticide in China to the suppression of women in religious societies. Now, with her fifth novel, “The Third Daughter,” Carner takes on sex trafficking.

The seeds for “The Third Daughter,” released in September by HarperCollins, were sewn in 1995, when Carner heard an aging Filipina recount her WWII sexual enslavement in “a comfort station” of the Japanese army. Twenty years later, Carner read a historical account of a businessman who obtained his wealth from trafficking women, and it compelled her to tackle the subject. “The Third Daughter,” set in Buenos Aires in the late 1800s, is the story of a Jewish girl lured from Russia with a false promise of marriage and forced into prostitution.

“It takes courage to play with my own psyche and to experience the character’s heart-wrenching journey, but one that engages the reader,” Carner says.

Reviewers agree and describe “The Third Daughter” as “mesmerizing,” and “redemptive.” The New York Times best-selling author Pam Jenoff wrote: “Thoroughly researched and vividly rendered, this is an unforgettable story that will leave you both shaken and inspired.”

Born in Tel Aviv, Carner lives in New York but winters in Boca Raton. When she’s not writing, you might find her in the halls of Congress supporting human rights through legislation or speaking at fundraising events about the social issues that are the focus of her novels.

Throughout her career, working for Redbook magazine, the publisher of Savvy Woman magazine, and, as a volunteer, teaching women entrepreneurial skills in New York, China and Russia, she had a penchant for activism and spearheaded ground-breaking projects focusing on the plight of women and children.  

Carner enjoys her quiet writing years as much as the subsequent months of book touring, for her mission is to educate audiences. She has lined up several speaking engagements for when she returns to her Boca Raton home in December.

“When people leave an event that I keynote, they feel they have learned something,” says Carner. “It’s not just a ‘ladies’ lunch.’ I give them an opportunity to get involved and do something meaningful.”

Photo by Heidi Green Photography

For the author’s bio, schedule and novels, visit taliacarner.com. To book a speaking engagement, contact mecoxhudson@gmail.com or call 203-919-8406.

Wonder Women Special Advertising Section